•Tombstone• Brothers Under The Sun

Chapter 9

𝓐 𝓭𝓮𝓪𝓽𝓱 𝓲𝓷 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓼𝓽𝓻𝓮𝓮𝓽𝓼.

The night rolled in before Elle had noticed and the city quite expect for its night life. Riding back into Tombstone, she put Ash back into his stable. Pulling the leather strap down, she heard a gun shot go off, and then another, and another. Ash whined as Elle looked towards the barn door. Elle heard howling, what sounded like a wolf or coyote, but it wasn't a normal one. It was someone making the howling noises. Calming Ash, she grabbed the shotgun from her saddle and crept towards the door and peeked out.

Down the road, not too far, was Curly Bill was talking with Marshall Fred White. Glancing back at Ash, she then started walking towards the two, wondering if Bill was the one howling and shooting his gun. She couldn't hear them, but Fred placed his gun back on his hip and Bill handed him his guns. Suddenly, in a puff of smoke, a loud shot rang through the ears of Ellanora. Fred gasped for air as his blood splattered out of his chest.

Everything seemed to go into slow motion for Elle. She didn't hear the scream tear out of her throat, how fast she ran down the dirt road. She was faster then a race horse. In a dust cloud, Wyatt Earp grabbed Curly Bill and smacked him across the head with the back of his pistol. Sliding to her knees, Ellanora placed her hands on Fred's chest, trying to stop the blood. Hoping he was still alive, she looked around as a crowd formed, Wyatt still holding Bill as citizens called for a hanging. The cowboys drawer near, demanding to Wyatt to let their leader go.

"All right, back off." Wyatt said holding his gun in one hand, Bill in the other.

"Get a rope! String him up!" Someone in the crowd yelled.

"Nobody's hangin' anybody." Wyatt said trying to calm the crowd.

"He just killed a man!"

"Then he'll stand trial for it. Now get back! Move!" Pointing his guns towards the cowboys.

"Turn him loose!" Ike Clanton said coming from the shadows. Elle had turned her head and watched as he stalked towards Wyatt.

"He said to turn loose of him." Ike Clanton's brother Billy, said.

"Well, I'm not, so, go home." Wyatt said

" I swear to God, law dog, you don't step aside, we'll tear you apart." Ike said stepping forward.

All of of a sudden Elle stood up, pulling her shotgun to eye level, pumping the gun. Wyatt on the other hand, cocked his gun up to Ike's head. Ike was cornered. He had Ellanora to his left, shotgun to his temple, and Wyatt Earp, pistol to his forehead. The cowboy swallowed and trembled.

"You die first." Elle said, just barely choking out her words. "Get it?"

"Your friends might get me and Miss Raycroft in a rush, but not before we make your head into a canoe." Wyatt said, his voice deep with frustration.

"He's bluffin'. Let's rush him." Billy told the other cowboys.

"No... he ain't bluffin'." Ike shook in his boots.

"You're not as stupid as you look, Ike." Elle said, her breathing had become rough.

"Now tell your men to get back." Wyatt said.

Ike quickly told the other cowboys to back off before something was to happen. None of the me around moved, "They'll kill me." Ike pleaded. Everyone waited, waiting for the cowboys to move away, then, the sound of a hammer getting cocked was heard from behind Ellanora.

"And you, music lover." A drunken Doc Holliday said wandering out of the Oriental, pale as the moon above, and shining in sweat. "You're next." He had a cup in one hand, his pistol in the other. His jacket was gone, leaving him in his grey vest, no hat, seemingly relaxed.

Ike's brother huffed a chuckle at the drunk man. "The drunk piano player. Your so drunk, you can't hit nothin'." Doc took a heavy gulp of his drink. "In fact, your probably seeing double." Billy then pulled out a hunting knife, it's sharp edges shining in the moonlight.

"I have two guns," Holliday said pulling out his other pistol from his shoulder holster, he twirled them in his hands, cup resting in his two fingers in his right hand. "One for each of ya."

Running out from an off road, Virgil and Morgan raced in, shooting their shotguns into the air telling people to get back, also pointing their guns at the cowboys. People scrambled away as the two other Earp brothers joined on the circle. The cowboys slowly started to back off and Ike looked at Ellanora and Wyatt before backing away slowly.

"I'll see you soon." Ike claimed, "I'll see you real soon."

"We'll meet again." Bill threatened Doc Holliday. Before turning and following his group, leaving the Earp's, Raycroft and Holliday alone with a now dead Fred White in the road. Wyatt then started dragging Curly Bill to the jail cell.

Ellanora dropped her shotgun and walked back towards Fred, looking down at the mans lifeless body, she felt tears prick her eyes. Morgan followed after Wyatt so Virgil walked next to Elle who was looking at Fred. The man put a hand on her back.

"I'll get someone down here to take his body." He said softly. He then dropped his hand and walked towards the direction of Wyatt and Morgan.

Not letting the tears fall, she heard another pair of footsteps come up next to her. Doc Holliday stood there, looking down at Fred. Although Fred was kind to Doc, he didn't feel the same as Elle.

"If only I had been here." Ellanora whispered, just barely enough for Holliday to hear her. Looking down at her hands, she saw she was painted in his blood when she tried to save him. Shaking her head, she tried to hold herself together.

The two stood there, for what felt like hours was only mere minutes. A few men came and placed a white cloth over the body and put it on a stretcher of sorts. Watching, she felt guilty. Ellanora felt like this was her fault. If she had been around, if she had been here. Feeling angry from the death of a friend she rolled her shoulders and cleared her throat. Doc looked at the girl in silence and watched as she walked down the dirt road.